Nigeria records over 10,000 diphtheria cases in 8 months- NCDC
By Ojoma Akor
Nigeria has recorded more than 10,000 confirmed cases of diphtheria since the beginning of this year, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said.
NCDC said most confirmed cases are concentrated in a few states, particularly Kano, Borno and Bauchi.
The agency’s Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, made the disclosure Friday in Abuja while giving an update on cholera and diphtheria outbreaks in the country.
He said that while the number of cases remains a substantial burden, the proportion of confirmed cases resulting in death has declined considerably compared with the same period last year.
Dr Idris also said Nigeria has recorded more than 65,000 suspected cases of cholera this year across 35 States and 195 Local Government Areas.
However, he added that weekly cholera cases have declined substantially from the peak recorded earlier in the season.
He said the proportion of reported cholera cases resulting in death is also considerably lower than it was at the same time last year, adding, “This is important progress. But I want to be very clear: the outbreak is not over.”
The NCDC director general highlighted that diphtheria is vaccine-preventable.
He said, “The central issue is that too many children remain unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy, insecurity, hard-to-reach communities, displacement and population movement make it more difficult to reach every child who needs protection.
” Bringing transmission under control therefore requires improved vaccination coverage and reaching every eligible child who has missed a vaccine dose.”
He said that across both cholera and diphtheria, NCDC continues to coordinate the public health response with State Governments and partners, providing technical support where it is most needed.
According to him, surveillance and laboratory capacity are being strengthened, healthcare workers are being supported on case management and infection prevention and control, and affected communities are being engaged with the information they need to protect themselves and seek care early.
He explained that the National Rapid Response Teams have also been deployed to affected states as the need arose to support investigation and response activities.
He said, “For cholera specifically, the response is focused on ensuring early access to treatment while addressing the water, sanitation and hygiene conditions that continue to drive transmission. In Borno, our teams have investigated transmission sources and assessed water supply points, helping to identify gaps in water quality, sanitation and chlorination. In Bauchi, working with the State Government, oral rehydration points were established, treatment capacity was strengthened, and active case search was intensified.
“Oral cholera vaccination has also been implemented in high-burden areas, while water chlorination, rehabilitation of water sources and hygiene promotion continue in affected communities.”
He added that for diphtheria, the response focuses on strengthening vaccination coverage and rapidly identifying and managing cases.
“Reactive vaccination is being carried out in affected areas, while essential treatment and laboratory commodities continue to be provided. These efforts are ongoing, but Federal action alone will not bring these outbreaks under control. Many of the interventions that will make the greatest difference must happen in our States, Local Government Areas, health facilities, communities and homes,” he said.
He called on state and Local Governments to intensify their efforts. He also said that across both outbreaks, the priority should be to identify the communities at greatest risk, ensure critical gaps are addressed, and direct available resources (human resources, materials, and isolation space for surge, including funding) and response capacity where they are most needed.
Dr Idris said for cholera this means improving access to safe water and sanitation, strengthening water-quality monitoring, repairing critical water infrastructure, addressing open defecation, and ensuring that high-risk Local Government Areas have functional treatment and rapid response capacity.
For diphtheria, the NCDC Director-General said the priority is to improve vaccination coverage, particularly in affected, hard-to-reach, and underserved communities. This means strengthening routine immunization and targeted vaccination, identifying communities with low vaccination coverage, and reaching children who have missed their routine doses, he said.
He further said State and Local Governments must provide the resources (human resources, material and isolation space for surge, including funding) and operational support (logistics) required to sustain these interventions and bring transmission under control.
He urged health workers to ensure early recognition, prompt reporting, and appropriate management.
“Healthcare workers must also consistently observe standard infection prevention and control precautions to protect themselves, their colleagues and their patients,” he said.